


Under the Skin

by TheGreatCatsby



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, M/M, oisuga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-05-09
Packaged: 2018-06-07 11:03:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6801091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreatCatsby/pseuds/TheGreatCatsby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oikawa wants the stars.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under the Skin

“I want the galaxy on my back.” 

The demand was so outrageous that Iwaizumi had stopped accompanying Oikawa to tattoo parlors, because apparently calling him an “over dramatic demanding asshole” wasn't enough to deter Oikawa from making the request at every single place. 

“I can't stand seeing another poor artist's suffering whenever you tell them that what they think they can do isn't good enough,” he'd said when Oikawa asked him to yet another tattoo parlor. 

“But this one looks right,” Oikawa had told him. “I actually researched the artist this time.” 

The artist was called Sugawara Koushi and his specialty was line art. Line art didn't necessarily mean the galaxy, but one of the problems Iwaizumi had with Oikawa was that Oikawa didn't quite know what he wanted when he said it. Oikawa thought that “I'll know it when I see it” was a perfectly good way to go about looking for a tattoo artist. 

In the end, Oikawa went to The Crow & Cat Tattoo Parlor alone. He arrived five minutes early for his consultation appointment with Sugawara Koushi, and an excited looking orange-haired guy who looked more like a boy took down his details. 

He'd turned to sit down when a voice said, “Oikawa-san?” 

Oikawa turned around and nearly had a heart attack. 

It was fitting that Sugawara Koushi was an artist specialized in making beautiful things, because he was a beautiful person. Pale skin, a beauty mark dotting the corning of his left eye, ash blond hair. He wore a pastel purple sweater. He actually reminded Oikawa of watercolors, but not in a bad way. Sugawara was like watercolors in the way that watercolors were soothing to the eye. 

And he was smiling right at Oikawa. 

It took Oikawa a moment to recover. 

“Sugawara Koushi,” Sugawara said, sticking out his hand, “but you can call me Suga. You are Oikawa-san, right?” 

“Right.” Oikawa shook Suga's hand. 

“Come with me,” Suga said. “We can talk in the back room.” 

The back room was small, with a table and a few chairs and a fridge stuffed in the corner, but it was free from the buzz that filled the rest of the parlor. Oikawa sat on the opposite end of the table from Suga, who placed several print-outs between them. Some of them, Oikawa recognized as pictures of space that he'd sent in his initial e-mail. Others were new to him. Suga spread them out so that each could be seen clearly. 

“So you weren't kidding when you said you wanted the galaxy, right?” he asked, his lips twitching slightly. 

“Nope,” Oikawa said. “I mean obviously you can't tattoo those pictures on my back, but I want something like it.” 

“You also know I do line art, right?” 

“I do. But I liked your line art.” 

Suga hummed and directed Oikawa's attention to the new photos. “Well I've been getting into doing watercolor tattoos recently. You've heard of those, right?” 

“No.” 

“Here.” Suga passed one of the papers to Oikawa. It was a printout of several tattoo designs where the colors were less solid than those of traditional tattoos. The colors looked, well, like those in a watercolor painting. 

Oikawa's eyes went wide. “How come I've never seen this before?” 

“Not a lot of artists do it,” Suga said. “It's relatively new as well, and I've only started recently. So I did a sort of test drawing. This would spread across yours shoulders and fade out towards your mid-back.” He pushed a second paper forward. 

Oikawa's eyes went wide, his breath stolen away. There was little line art, just small circles of varying sizes, thin black outlined and filled with white. The pinpricks of white rested against a canvas of light and dark blues and purples washing into each other and then fading at the edges into what Oikawa assumed would be his normal skin color. 

He stared at it for a solid five minutes. For the first time since he'd started his search, he felt like he knew what he wanted. This. 

“It—it's really intricate,” he choked. 

“I like a challenge,” Suga said. 

“And you can do this?” 

“If you want me to. You aren't the first watercolor tattoo customer I've had, but yours would be the most complex I've done. It'll probably have to happen over several sessions.” 

“That's fine,” Oikawa said absently. 

“If you want we can go to the front and book it now,” Suga added. 

“Book what?” 

“The appointments.” 

Oikawa managed to tear his eyes from the artwork to look at Suga. Suga's eyes crinkled with amusement. 

“Oh yeah,” Oikawa said absently. 

“Let's go then. I'll do it since Hinata doesn't know my schedule completely.” Suga stood up. Oikawa stood as well, put the artwork down. 

“Can I have a copy?” he blurted out. 

“As long as you don't sell it or take it to another tattoo place,” Suga said, “I'd be happy to give you a copy next time.”

“I wouldn't,” Oikawa said. He stood up as well. “Give me the stars, Suga-san.” Then he realized what he'd said and his cheeks went hot. 

Suga's cheeks were also pink, but he only murmured, “I will,” and ducked out of the room. By the time they reached the front desk, his face had returned to normal color. 

But Oikawa's cheeks burned throughout the whole process of making appointments, and continued to burn as he walked home. 

* 

“I cannot believe you found a tattoo artist willing to deal with your crap,” Iwaizumi said over lunch the next day. 

“I cannot believe you doubted me,” Oikawa said. 

“I can't believe you're willing to go easy on volleyball practice for the sake of a tattoo,” Iwaizumi shot back. 

“Only because it's space,” Oikawa said. “It's an investment, Iwa-chan. And it's off-season.” 

“I've had to drag you off the court,” Iwaizumi pointed out. 

“That was high school,” Oikawa sniffed. “I'm a mature adult now.” 

Iwaizumi scoffed. “Adult my ass. You don't even have a proper job.” 

“We're still in university!” 

“Exactly. Where are you getting the money for this tattoo?” 

“Twenty-first birthday money Iwa-chan. And totally worth it.” 

Iwaizumi shrugged. “Whatever you say, Oikawa.” 

“You'll see, Iwa-chan. I'm gonna have the stars on my back.” 

“Uh-huh.” 

* 

Oikawa had to admit that he was scared of his first appointment. He didn't admit it to anyone but himself, but he figured admitting it to himself counted for something. He'd never had a tattoo before, and his first one was a huge undertaking. He liked to think he had a high pain threshold, but he wondered what that counted for when a needle was being stabbed into your back every few seconds for hours on end, injecting ink. 

Probably not a lot. 

Still, Suga had a way of making him feel calm as he settled Oikawa face-down in the chair. He explained what he was doing at every moment, putting Oikawa at ease. He even explained the hygeine precautions, which was a comfort. Oikawa didn't want to deal with unnecessary complications. 

“Of course,” Suga said, as he pulled up his chair next to Oikawa, “you can use your phone and stuff.” 

“Or I could talk to you,” Oikawa said. 

Suga laughed, lightly. “Or that.” He turned on the machine attached to the needle, filling the air with that strange buzzing sound. Oikawa felt a shiver run up and down his body. “This might hurt.” 

“Right.” Oikawa tensed. 

“It'll help if you relax,” Suga said. 

“Right.” Oikawa took a shaky breath and tried to relax as much as possible. He felt Suga lean over him, and then felt a sharp pain in his back. 

The pain became more like stinging, and Oikawa's skin tingled. For a few moments neither of them said anything. 

Then Oikawa opened his mouth. “S-so, S-suga-san.” He hated how unsteady his voice sounded. “How did you get into this line of work?” 

It took Suga a further moment to respond. “I studied art in school, but school wasn't really for me.” He spoke slowly, like it took some effort to think through what he wanted to say. Probably because his concentration was elsewhere. But he didn't sound like he minded. “I dropped out and started showing my artwork around. Someone here took me under their wing. Ukai Keishin, who owns the place now. That wasn't too long ago.” 

“You seem young,” Oikawa commented. 

“I'm twenty-four.” 

Oikawa blinked. “You're not much older than me.” 

“Most of our clients are pretty young,” Suga said. “A few of our artists are, too.” 

“Do you enjoy it?” 

“I never thought of it at first,” Suga said, “but other people have enough faith in my art to get it tattoed on their skin. That's the highest honor for me.” 

Oikawa had never thought of it like that. 

“So what about you, Oikawa-san,” Suga added.

“I'm a student of marketing,” Oikawa said, “but I play on the men's volleyball team at my university.” 

“You must be good then,” Suga said. 

“One of the best.” Oikawa smiled. “I love it.” 

“But you're not getting a volleyball tattoo.” 

“How tacky!” Oikawa scoffed. “Can you imagine?” 

Suga huffed out a breath, probably his version of a laugh when he had to keep his hands steady. “I can't, actually.” 

“I liked space before I liked volleyball,” Oikawa continued. “Alien shows are my jam. And if I was better at science I would've probably studied astronomy. But I'm not. But it's still a passion.” 

“Why do you like space?” Suga asked. 

Oikawa took a deep breath. He was feeling more relaxed now. “There's so many possibilities. I mean besides aliens. Also, aliens. But think about it. If even half the stars are like our sun, with several planets, one of which has intelligent life, that would be like...billions of places with possible life out there. There's so much we don't know. And I don't know, it feels like...” He struggled for the words. 

“Hope?” Suga offered. 

“Hope?” He'd never put it that way, but it felt right when he thought about it now. 

“Yeah,” Suga said, voice soft, but still loud enough to be clear over the buzzing of his machine. “There's the possibility for so many beautiful and new things to discover. We'll never be done. We'll never get bored.” 

“Yeah,” Oikawa agreed, breathing out. “It's like that.” 

He walked away from the first appointment feeling light as air. 

* 

The second appointment, Suga planned to add most of the colors. Oikawa had seen the line art and the beginning of the coloring on his back after his first appointment and he was happy with how it was coming along. Even Iwaizumi was impressed. 

This time Oikawa was completely at ease in Suga's chair. As Suga started his work, Oikawa asked, “Do you have any tattoos?” 

“I do,” Suga said. “My arms and across my back.” 

“What are they?” 

“Vines.” His answer sounded halting, and Oikawa frowned at the floor. 

“You like plants?” 

“I do.” Again, haltingly. “I like taking care of them, even though I can only have the kind that are low maintenance. But I like the idea of growing, living things represented on my skin.” 

“Did you tattoo yourself?” Oikawa realized how stupid that sounded. “Uh, forget I said that. It's a stupid question. You can't do that.” 

“Not stupid,” Suga said, sounding amused. “I designed them, if that's what you mean.” 

“That's totally what I meant,” Oikawa said, allowing himself a small smile. “I'd like to see them.” 

“Oh.” It came out soft, almost surprised, and a little apprehensive. 

“It's okay if you don't want to show me,” Oikawa added, though he couldn't quite hide his confusion at why a tattoo artist wouldn't want to show off his own tattoos. 

“It...it's just that the meaning behind them is really...intense to some people,” Suga explained. “They mean a lot to me but it's not always easy to explain.” 

“Are you afraid I'll judge you?” Oikawa asked. 

“Some people do.” 

“As long as it's not like, a sleeve full of volleyballs I don't think I'd judge you,” Oikawa said. 

Suga huffed. “It certainly isn't that.” 

They filled the rest of the time with lighter talk, and when Oikawa sat up and gingerly pulled his shirt over his head, Suga pushed up the sleeves of his sweater and held out his arms. 

“These are my tattoos. Well, what you can see without me taking my shirt off.” He sounded nervous. 

Oikawa saw the vines with leaves, black on Suga's pale skin, winding from his wrists up his arms and disappearing beneath his sweater. The style of ink was sketchy rather than photorealistic, but the way the ink flowed made the vine reflect a living plant in its own way. 

Underneath the ink in some places Suga's skin was darkened, and Oikawa couldn't quite make out what the ink covered, if it was meant to cover anything at all. 

“You're wondering about the scars,” Suga said. 

“That's what they are,” Oikawa murmured. 

“Yeah. I struggle, sometimes with,” Suga swallowed, “depression. I'm doing well now, but there was a time when I struggled so much that I tried to end it. I hurt myself, and...I mean I can't get rid of that part of me. But I didn't want those scars to just be these harsh reminders. I wanted them to also remind me that I lived through it, that I could still continue to grow and change. I thought a vine would...I mean it's a bit of an artistic metaphor but...” 

“It gives you hope?” Oikawa asked. 

Suga gave him a soft smile. “It does.” 

Oikawa smiled back. “Space makes me calm. Knowing that I have something like that on me, being able to look in the mirror and see that, it calms me somehow.” 

“I'm glad it does,” Suga said. His eyes widened suddenly. “Oh, also!” He ran off to the back room and came back, a laminated piece of paper in his hand. His concept artwork for Oikawa's tattoo. 

Oikawa took it, eyes wide. “Thank you,” he breathed. When he looked up at Suga, he saw that Suga's eyes were bright. “What-?” 

“Just,” Suga interrupted, his cheeks turning red, “the way you look at my art is...no one's done that before.” 

“I love it,” Oikawa said.

Suga smiled, bright, his entire face lighting up. “Thank you.” 

*

The third appointment would be Oikawa's last, and he didn't want that to be the last time he saw Suga. He was excited for his tattoo to be done, but he also felt a bit sad. As Suga prepared, this time Oikawa paid attention to everything. He noticed how long Suga's fingers were, how precise in preparing the machine and the needle and the ink. He could imagine his hand wrapped around a pen, sketching flowing lines on paper. 

Then Suga asked him to lie down and Oikawa couldn't look at him anymore. He could only imagine Suga's eyes narrowed in concentration. Perhaps Suga was one of those people whose tongues stuck out when they got deep into a task, or maybe his lips would press into a thin line. He could imagine the steadiness of Suga's hand as he painted color into Oikawa's skin. 

It was quieter this time, the atmosphere heavy. Maybe it was because they both kenw it was Oikawa's last appointment. Oikawa could always get more tattoos, but it probably would be a while before he got one. And the hours spent in the chair were so little compared to all the hours of the day. 

All too soon the buzzing ended, the pressure on Oikawa's back lifted and Suga's soft voice was telling him to stand and take a look. Suga held up two mirrors, one on Oikawa's back and one in front of Oikawa's face. Oikawa stared at the galaxy on his back, the colors swirling into stars and blending into his skin. It looked alive. He felt his breath hitch. 

“You gave me the stars,” he breathed. 

“I...you like them?” 

Oikawa turned from the mirror to look at Suga's hopeful expression, at the way Suga was watching him closely. And then Oikawa moved forward, gently pushed the mirror aside, and pressed a kiss to Suga's lips. 

Suga kissed him back. 

It made Oikawa feel calm like he did when he looked at the stars and galaxies and when he dreamt of the possibilities of everything and anything. Then he pulled away to look at Suga's face. He wanted to trace constellations on Suga's cheeks, on his back, on his stomach and to have Suga do the same to him. 

When he asked Suga if he wanted to try starting something together, Suga agreed. And Oikawa walked out of the tattoo parlor with the stars on his back and Suga under his skin and a universe of possibilities ahead of him.


End file.
